1 A built-in ornamental doorway found in the raised area *jōdan 上段 of a formal *shoin 書院 style reception suite. Usually situated opposite the built-in desk tsukeshoin 付書院, at right angles to the decorative alcove *tokonoma 床の間 and staggered shelves *chigaidana 違い棚. The classic type consisted of a pair of sliding opaque paper panels *fusuma 襖 flanked by fixed panels behind which the movable panels were concealed when open. The threshold *shikii 敷居 was raised about 15 cm above the top surface of the *tatami 畳 in the jōdan, with a narrow strip of wall *kokabe 小壁, or riser board kekomi-ita 蹴込板 (see *keage 蹴上), between it and the floor, while the lintel *kamoi 鴨居 was lowered by an equivalent amount. Many of the surviving examples are elaborately decorated, with the frames picked out in black lacquer *urushi-nuri 漆塗 and embellished with gilded metal fittings *kanagu 金具, painted scenes on the fusuma and scarlet tassels hibō or hibusa 緋房 hanging down to form the door handles *hikite 引手. Originally the chōdaigamae constituted the entry to the master's sleeping room which was sometimes used as a store room *chōdai 帳台 or *nando 納戸, and in a number of formal shoin structures of the Momoyama and early Edo periods, there was still an enclosed *chōdai-no-ma 帳台の間 beyond the doors. In a structure whose functions were ceremonial rather than residential, however, it was increasingly redundant and was often dispensed with. So the chōdaigamae, if retained, became non-functional and purely decorative. From the latter part of the 17th century, it became increasingly rare to construct chōdaigamae. See *hashirama sōchi 柱間装置.
2 Also called nandogamae 納戸構え. In traditional vernacular houses *minka 民家 from at least the 14th century, the entrance to the back chamber *chōdai 帳台 or *nando 納戸. As in 1 above, the threshold was usually raised but the lintel was not lowered, to judge from surviving examples. A single wooden sliding door katabiki itado 片引板戸 with a flanking panel of timber *sodekabe 袖壁, or a pair of paneled sliding doors, itado 板戸, flanked by half bay panels were the most common types. The flanking panels were often designed to create a strong accent, like the example at Imanishi 今西 House (1650), Imaichō 今井町 in Nara, with its armor-style timber siding, yoroi shitami itabari 鎧下見板張り. The paneled doors had a drop bolt, otoshisaru 落し猿, to lock the door. Sometimes an extra runner was provided for sliding screens behind the paneled doors. The chōdaigamae first lost its high threshold and then gradually fell into disuse during the Edo period as the back chamber became less enclosed, though in certain areas, such as the Island of Sado 佐渡, it persisted until the 19th century. It has been argued that the high threshold was originally provided to prevent straw bedding material wara 藁 from spreading through the house.
